NATURAL LABOR INDUCERS

I heard about a few natural labor inducers that sound like fun ways to induce labor naturally at home. Before you kick up your heels and shout HOORAY, you should know that nothing's going to work if your cervix is not ripe and ready to rock and roll. HOWEVER, there are a few ways that may help ripen your cervix by softening it and making it efface and dilate.

VALID REASONS TO INDUCE LABOR

So, you're pregnant and want to get the show on the road! Wanting to deliver in time to go on a Christmas ski vacation or a rock concert are NOT good reasons to induce. You know that I'm NOT a medical professional, this blog is for entertainment only AND that you should always take the advice of a trusted medical professional rather than trusting somebody that slapped a blog up on the internet...like me...but here's a short list of reasons for your entertainment ONLY!

• Mother's Health - If mom has heart problems, hypertension, a seizure disorder, cancer or any number of serious medical condition, induction may be necessary. That being said, lots of moms with medical conditions manage to give birth naturally. Whether or not induction is needed should be determined by the medical professional in charge.
  
• Baby's Health - The doctor may feel the baby needs to be delivered ASAP
  

Before trying any of natural labor inducers or the fun ways to induce labor naturally that I teased you with, you should talk to your doctor to be sure that it's ok. But just for kicks, here are some natural ways to induce labor.

• SEX
  
• STIMULATING YOUR NIPPLES
  
• LAUGHING
  

Here's an idea...if your OB/GYN says it's cool, you might talk your partner into having sex, stimulating your nipples all the while telling you funny jokes and kill three birds with one stone! How's that for multi-tasking? You might call them natural labor inducers but they sound like good old-fashioned fun to me!

NATURAL SKIN CARE TIPS

I thought I would share my natural skin care tips that will help your skin to look its best even when you don't have money for expensive creams...like me. I don't have time for an elaborate treatment program. In fact, some days around lunch I have to stop and think if I've washed my face or not that day. YET...I get lots of compliments on my skin so I must be doing something right.


And what I came up with is that it has to be my diet that is very rich in good stuff that I try to focus on to boost my family's immune system. Evidently, there is an added bonus to fighting illnesses...your skin is smoother and looks healthy!

While other moms are spending a lot of money for exfoliates and moisturizers, I'm buying cherries, berries and veggies that I hope are helping me to beat wrinkles, acne and dry, flaky skin. Here are some fruits and vegetables that may help you fight illness and look super! Natural foods may be one of the best, cheap and most effective remedies for illnesses and I believe that working on our skin from the inside out is a very good idea.

Natural cures and treatments are always best in my book. And since we have to eat why not buy foods that are nutrient rich and have disease fighting properties. The right foods will not only cleanse and protect our bodies' immune system but they will produce beautiful skin and a clear complexion with less acne (hello...teenage boys and girls, are you listening?).

Here are some of the foods that I buy either to eat raw or to use in my healthy old fashioned recipes for my family. Why don't you give them a try and see how much they improve your skin. It's true that good food is not cheap, but if you break it down you will see that they cost a fraction of the price of even discount creams and lotions.

YOU ARE WHAT YOU DRINK

In my humble opinion, colas are evil. They pack on pounds and I have to believe that drinking out of a mudhole might be more healthy in the long run. Well, not really but drinking colas is something I don't promote. On the other hand, I'm not a big fan of drinking fruit juices either because of sugar.

I prefer to drink water and green tea. I don't love the taste of green tea but it has been proven to reduce the damage of sunburns and overexposure to ultraviolet rays of the sun, which in turn reduces the risk of skin cancer.

As far as the benefits to your skin, green tea contains polyphenol which has recently been reported to reactivate dying skin cells. Holy Moly!!! That has to be one of the best natural skin care tips ever. This stuff might just be my own, personal Fountain of Youth.

IT'S FISHY BUT IT'S GOOD

I would eat tuna everyday but the mercury thing gives me pause. So, we eat a lot of sardines at my house. Yeah, we smell bad but our skin looks good. Probably because of the many, many essential fatty acides that protect our cell membranes healthy by keeping out harmful substances as well as allowing nutrients to enter cells and then leave carrying nasty waste products.

BERRY, BERRY NICE!

You know how you see some kids popping M&Ms and Skittles? Well, mine pop blueberries and strawberries. This is a good thing because of the antioxidants that attacks free radicals that can ruin skin cells.

Protecting our skin cells from disintegrating makes the skin look younger.

THAT WASCALLY WABBIT WAS WIGHT!

If Elmer Fudd ever manages to bag Bugs Bunny and shave him clean of hair, we will probably see an amazingly smooth and youthful hide! You see, carrots are an excellent source of vitamin A, which is a nutrient that skin loves because Vitamin A is required for developing and maintaining skin cells.

These natural skin care tips are not very exciting but you don't have to mix up a recipe and wear goo all over your body to reap the rewards! Give them a try for a couple of months..your skin and your bank account should be showing marked improvement by then.

HOW TO STOP SCREAMING AT YOUR KIDS

If you've started yelling, you need to know how to stop screaming at your kids. Yelling and screaming to get the kids' attention is a nasty habit that probably started one day when you were overwhelmed and too tired for positive parenting practices and then before long, it was your secret weapon aka nasty habit.

Believe me, I know what I'm talking about here. As the stress of taking care of a chronically ill child and then my husband started to take its toll...my voice started rising in lockstep. And it worked for a little while but then one day I realized I was turning into THAT mommy.

There was a mom like that in my neighborhood when I was a kid. It was the joke of the block. I can remember hearing this lady's loud, loud voice and the adults laughing and saying stuff like, "There goes Mrs. So and So on her evening rant". Why nobody actually tried to help is beyond me. The woman worked several jobs and had no husband, but if anyone did I was not aware of it.


Getting back to my own life, awhile back, I realized that my speaking voice when dealing with my older girls had risen to levels that probably could be heard next door. An echo that came back at me from across the valley tipped me off and a little voice whispered in my ear, "You need to learn how to stop screaming at your kids!"

Once I dedicated myself to keeping household's noise level to a low hum, I realized I didn't just need to lower my voice. I needed to take a look at where the yelling was coming from. It hit me that my nerves and emotions are shot from sheer overwork and exhaustion. The reason I have started to lose it with the children is because I am overworked and they have started to "take control" which is only natural since mommy appears to have lost hers. They have become powerful as a group in the face of my weakness.

I am going to have to turn the tide, regain control and win back my kids' respect and there is no time like the present. The loving family that I dreamed of and started out with is not going to slip through my fingers for one more minute. I am pledging to take control of my emotions and keep my cool.

Here are some ideas that I I'm putting to work today.

• 
  Stop feeling sorry for myself
  
• Take an attitude of gratitude
  
• Stay in the moment and don't drift into the past or future stressing about what could be or what might have been.
  
• Take a little time for myself so that I'm rested and better equipped to handle things
  
• Take a minute to calm myself before opening my mouth
  

I'm going to read some books on the subject of how to stop yelling at your kids and take the best tips to heart and chunk the rest. I am not going to be the village joke just because my life has not turned out just the way I planned it. My plan is to replace my stressed out chaotic reactions with calm reasoning.

Please pray for me and if you have any suggestions on how I can stay on track and start parenting my kids again rather than losing control and yelling at them I would love to hear from you.

MAKE YOUR CAR A NO PHONE ZONE

Texting while driving is dangerous and downright dumb! Please, make your car a no phone zone for the safety of both my family and yours. I've watched more vehicles swerving and running off the road since texting began than I ever saw driving home from concerts at 2am in the morning! Does that mean that cell phones have made clean and sober drivers more dangerous than those that are driving drunk or high?
We may never hear the results of that study, but don't we expect more out of people who are NOT under the influence?

I've been a fan of banning TALKING on cell phones while driving for years. I actually thought that not texting while operating a moving vehicle should have been a no-brainer. Unfortunately, busy people with busy lives are choosing a very dangerous way of staying in touch with their offices and their loved ones.

Joining the fight to give you inspiration and tell you why and how to make your car a no phone zone became very personal to me not so long ago. A friend, texting on his cell phone, ran his front tire off the edge of the road and over-corrected into the next lane of traffic. Some bull-shit text cost this talented young man his life. The world is a sadder place without his music and his uplifting love of life. All because some bored friend felt the need to say, "Wut's up?".

Tell me, do you want to have been in the other lane when somebody jerks the wheel under similar circumstances? I don't...

PLEASE
When you get a call on your cell, let voicemail answer and call back later when you are not driving. If you are expecting an important call, pull over to check to see who called and listen to the message after you stop! When you are traveling let driving be your priority and don't succumb to distracted driving.

EDUCATE YOUR DRIVER'S ED PROGRAM
Contact your local high school (even if you don't have a teenage driver in the house) and ask if the instructor teaches a class on how to avoid being a distracted driver and if he tells his students NOT to talk or text while driving and make this a topic of one (or more!) of your parenting chats.

Please learn how to make your car a no phone zone and stick to it! I don't want to lose any more friends due to "death by texting". And if you're walking as part of your efforts in going green, you should know that more pedestrians are stepping off the curb and being hit by moving cars than ever before because of typing on their cell phones.

Common sense should tell you that if you are moving...NO TEXTING!

LIST OF GOALS for 2010

I found a list of goals for 2010 yesterday that I made late in 2009. Yes, I was already thinking about insuring that this year would (just had to be!) better than the last few.

The idea for the list came about after reading a Guide to Setting Goals for 2010 and thinking...how the heck can someone tell ME what my personal goals should be? With a rather defiant attitude I found a notepad and started to scribble out a few goals, some easily attainable if I tried at all and others that were going to be a challenge.

For those who are interested, here's what I wrote.

• Organize at least one closet -- This might seem too easy to some but you haven't seen my closets, right?
  
• Lose 5 pounds with healthy exercise not by dieting
  
• Check into going back to college and getting a degree in something that will be focused on green parenting like maybe becoming a family counselor or a lactation consultant
  
• Read and Re-read the classics so my babies will be duly impressed when they have to read them in school and mommy knows all about them
  
• Get a few chickens
  
• Visit my elderly family members who are in the nursing home. I figure if I want my kids to visit me, I should set an example.
  

Is it lame that I only had time to write a list that fell short of 10 goals? I took a look at a list of goals for 2010 that I found on the net that had more than 30 one of which was to star in a movie! Frankly, this made me feel like cracking the paper on a chocolate bar and throwing up my hands in shame and dismay until I realized that more than half of my list of goals was geared toward doing something for the planet and for family rather than myself. It made me feel much better until I realized that we are now five months into 2010 and I haven't attained one single goal! So, my goal for today is to get started checking the first item on my list of goals for 2010...wish me luck!

Recycled Artwork

Pay close attention while I tell you about how I found my recycled artwork because you are probably going to want to copy my idea! I love to buy old, previously loved items and give them new life. During my latest foray through the flea market, I picked up some old children’s storybooks that had seen better days. Actually, they were literally falling apart and my friends thought I was totally crazy at the time, but now they are so jealous of my recycled art!

Luckily, all of the other shoppers skipped over these wonderful Mother Goose books because their covers were so damaged and worn. I, myself, almost didn’t take the time to open them and see what was inside. But when I did, I found the most precious illustrations that after my recycling efforts, have a new life as my kids wall art!

What I did was to pick the books clean of all the pages that had frameable pictures on them. The results were delightful art prints that didn’t set me back a bundle. And I didn't even have to pay for framing. I don’t believe that I could have done better than the plain, wooden frames that I had bought at a thrift store awhile back.

A fancy, new (read: expensive) picture frame would have detracted from the beauty of the slightly aged pictures. To make them look just right I wanted to surround my recycled artwork with wood that was either reclaimed or that had been rescued from a second hand store and thankfully, the ones that I had on hand were just the right size.

I would have felt lousy tearing the old book apart if the binding had been in good shape. But as it was, the pages were coming loose from the spine and were headed for the landfill. What once was a beautiful book that when read by a loved one eased a sleepy child into dreamland was no longer suitable for its original purpose.

Should the book have been better taken care of, there is no way that I could have violated it even though I may not have wanted my teething babies to chew on it in fear that the book’s print may have contained lead. But as it was, I pulled off the ultimate recycling coup and my recycled artwork looks super in my kids’ room.

PAPER OR PLASTIC

The next time you’re asked whether you would prefer paper or plastic, why not make an informed decision rather than just choosing paper because you think that might be more in keeping with going green. Do you ever wonder if banning plastic bags really has an impact on the building piles of plastic litter? Does choosing paper over plastic have it’s drawbacks as it leads to more deforestation?

THE PROBLEMS WITH PLASTIC BAGS

The very first run-in I ever had with plastic bags had little to do with green living. I was too young to remember my near death experience of suffocation by plastic but my mom gives the event credit for giving her a gray streak in her hair. The story goes that a small portion of a plastic cleaner bag blew across my face and stuck while I was riding in my baby car seat unbeknownst to my mother who was driving. She swears that she happened to glance in the rearview mirror and swerved to the roadside just in time to rescue me from becoming a plastic bag suffocation victim. The lesson learned is to not hang the dry cleaning anywhere near sleeping babies or kids of any age.

Beyond their tendency to suffocate kids, the plastic bag problem encompasses overflowing landfills, clogged sewers and ingestion of the stuff that refuses to biodegrade by animals, birds and marine life.

BANNING PLASTIC BAGS

There are a number of countries banning plastic bags outright and others are imposing taxes on their use. San Francisco, California is the first and only major city in America to pass a plastic bag ban.


ALTERNATIVES TO PAPER OR PLASTIC

Environmentalists are in favor of our using bags made of a biodegradable cornstarch-based plastic to customers who don’t have their own reusable canvas grocery bags. These bags have the same biodegradable characteristics and convenience of paper bags without contributing to deforestation.

ARE PAPER BAGS BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

If plastic is banned will that just lead to more problems? It’s a fact that this could lead to increased deforestation but the good news is that most paper bags are now made from recycled materials not virgin wood. Plus, there is the additional benefit of paper’s biodegradability.

The truth is that there are issues surrounding the use of paper or plastic bags. For now, perhaps the best answer is to break out the old sewing machine and make some fabric shopping bags to use while the argument of paper vs. plastic rages on. And while you’re at it, make some for your friends who are devoted to green living. Mother Earth and future generations will be eternally grateful.

A TALE OF SELF SUFFICIENT LIVING

The story I'm about to share proves that most peoples' idea of self sufficient living, just like recycling and going green, are much more grandiose than they have to be. Not that there is anything wrong with self-sufficiency or recycling on a large scale, it's just not that practical for most people without large farms with plenty of acreage.

My earliest example of a self-sufficient life came through the example set by a man who probably had no property at all much less enough farmland with pastures filled with homegrown livestock and land where he could grow his own vegetables. Bill’s way of life was simple and while it would probably not be appealing to everybody; it was effective.

Bill didn’t own a vehicle, and what money he raised he did by doing yard work. He didn’t own a vehicle and oddly enough didn’t even own a lawn mower (much less his own farm). When he cut your yard he did it with your family’s lawnmower.

He walked to work and spent his day going from house to house in our subdivision asking if anything needed done, setting a price and then taking care of business. This part of the process was just part of the equation in Bill’s style of self sufficient living.

Most afternoons, on his way out of the neighborhood, he would be carrying a sack filled with food and stuff that other people were letting go to waste (his words). While he was tending peoples’ yards, he would also gather poke salad for supper, plums, apples and in the fall he would stay after work to pick up pecans in what we called the "old hospital yard". The nuts that fell off those trees were no bigger than your thumbnail and everybody else considered shelling them to be way too much work for what little meat you got for your trouble.

In my opinion, this is a super example of how simple a self sufficient lifestyle can be. Self sufficiency doesn't have to be fancy, just making the best use of what is around us and not letting anything go to waste by recycling and a little bit of scavenging. The things we recycle help the environment and the items we find and make use of soothe our souls and lift our spirits.

And, yes, Bill was happy with his special brand of self sufficient living. In fact, he was probably more satisfied with his life than CEOs of major corporations who make millions of dollars a year will ever be.

IS MOTHER NATURE OUT OF CONTROL

I have to ask you, "Is Mother Nature out of control?". After nearly getting our tushes handed to us in last weekend's tornadoes I'm thinking she's lost her rabid mind! The massive twister that rolled through the south was said at times to be up to 1.75 miles wide which is just about as wide a tornado as ever has been documented and that's saying something. Big funnel clouds are not rare in Mississippi but this was one for the books. One of the pictures I saw snapped in Yazoo City looked like something out of a sci-fi movie!

The weather channel people who, bless their hearts, struggled so valiantly in their efforts to correctly pronounce Yazoo much less a tongue twister (hate that word, twister) like Kosciusko did a great job of covering the misery and devastation that was left in this horrific storm's wake. They stated several times this was the worst storm since Katrina hit...people, that was only a couple of years ago!

Are we now to expect weather events that used to happen once in a lifetime on a regular basis? I can remember the old folks talking about Hurricane Camille back in 1969 and a tornado that came through so fast and unexpectedly in the late 1940s that it not only picked up train cars but neighborhood who were out playing ball and couldn't get home or take cover quickly enough.

My point being that these storms were so memorable because they were isolated events. These days, you might want to start a diary to keep track of all the major hurricanes, tornadoes and ice storms that you live through so you won't forget some of the important details when entertaining your grandchildren.

I have to wonder if we have just had a really bad spell of weather over the last decade and that things will calm down getting back to normal or after getting a taste of walking on the wild side is Mother Nature out of control and are there more tornadoes than there used to be?

I'm sure that the citizens of Weir and Yazoo City Mississippi still sifting through the wreckage hope that the old bat, Mom Nature, has one heck of a hangover after all she put everybody through last weekend. Beyond that, they are probably afraid to talk too bad about her for fear she'll get pissed off and come back and take another swing at us.

Meanwhile, this mother is wondering if everybody waited so late to start going green that the old broad will never forgive and forget.

And kudos to the Weather Channel's Jim Cantore for not only being there but actually pronouncing the names of the towns beautifully. I know that he was just doing his job but small consideration during such dreadful times can make a huge difference.

GREEN WEED KILLERS

It’s time to break out the green weed killers because the cracks in our driveway are filling up with weeds! Am I heading out to the lawn and garden supply store for a buggy full of poisonous chemicals? Well, heck no because I have one of the best earth friendly weed killers right in my kitchen cabinet at home and vinegar is the cheapest thing going when it comes to killing weeds!


Chemical weed killers are not cheap but I wouldn’t use them even if they were giving them away for free! You may have already guessed my secret weed killing weapon; yes, I’m going to use plain, old garden variety vinegar to kill those weeds right in their tracks. It’s slower acting than the most common poison, Roundup, and you have to dump it on the plant a couple of times before you kill the roots, but using natural products over chemicals is worth a little extra time to me.


I would rather use green weed killers than chemicals that will first soak into the earth and then leach into our water supply, evaporate into the air we breathe and on and on. Everything we dump into the ground will eventually land on our doorstep so think about that the next time you take the quick and easy chemical method of weed killing when you could have killed those pesky weeds with something much less harmful to the planet. PLUS, I have a real problem with my kids playing on a lawn that has been doused with chemicals!


The only dangerous thing about using this green weed killer is that you have to protect the surrounding plants that you don’t want to kill. Pour to your heart’s contest on sidewalks and around fence lines but be careful around your flowers and any shrubs you want to keep because this green method of weed killing really works.
I have always used household vinegar that I buy in gallon containers but I have been told that there is such a thing as agricultural vinegar that is 20-30% acetic acid where the vinegar that I’ve been using (and it works just fine) is only 5%. Even though it’s much more acidic word is that it still is environmentally friendly. All you do is spray it on the pesky weeds and they shrivel up and die. However, I have not tried it myself and I understand it’s not EPA approved for use as an herbicide and can be difficult to find.

The weaker stuff is working just fine for me which is such an affirmation for my efforts in going green but if you have a resource for agricultural vinegar, would you please leave a comment telling us where to find it, how much it costs and how it worked for you?

GO GREEN TIPS

GOING GREEN is not that hard. It's going green and STAYING green that's tough. I have some "GO GREEN TIPS" for homes and work that might help moms resist the urge to drift back into nasty environmentally UN friendly habits when stress on the job or in our daily lives makes going the extra mile for Mother Earth too time consuming or (horrors!) expensive.

Inside the home, there are two easy tips that if everybody would put to use would have a major impact on home energy savings and a reduction in our carbon footprint.

1. Wash your clothes in cold water

2. Stop the dishwasher before it goes into the dry cycle

You can manage either of these Go Green tips for your home by pushing a button!

That's the kind of energy saving, environmentally thing that is so very easy to do and if you're a busy mom, sometimes baby steps is the best we can do. The thing is that baby steps are just the beginning. I started out with the little things and then dedicated myself to learning and utilizing more green living practices along the way and that works for me! My current goal is to pass my desire to clean up the environment to my children so if you have some green parenting tips, please take a minute and share them.

Jennifer Lopez Body After Babies

I've read so much speculation and so many comments about Jennifer Lopez body after babies that it made me all the more happy about my total lack of celebrity mom status. How awful it must be to think that the public at large is sitting around wondering about how flabby your belly is or how low your boobs are going to drop after breastfeeding.

Other than running across her name plastered on the front of magazines in the checkout line at the grocery and enjoying some of the movies she's starred in, I must make the confession that I haven't given Jennifer Lopez body after babies, before babies or otherwise much thought. However, after reading an article today with quotes from her on motherhood and her flabby tummy after having her twins; I am now one of her most devoted fans.

She was quoted as saying that when she got a peek at her flabby belly after giving birth she just laughed and said to her husband 'Look, baby! Isn't this crazy?' and that she just didn't care." Now THAT is, in my humble opinion, a celebrity mom with an attitude worthy of admiration!

TERRACYCLE PRODUCTS IN WALMART

Here's a heads up to look for Terracyle products in Walmart from April 5 to April 29 coinciding with Earth Day! I just read that Terracycle will be keeping 60 products in every Wal-Mart across the United States during that time span and it would be a shame if anybody misses them!

If you're wondering what I find so exciting about this company, you should visit the Terracyle website and take a look at their garbage recycling process. Their claim to environmental fame is that they actually convert your household trash into products that are being sold at major retailers. And the day that there are Terracycle products in Walmart, well, that's a day to crow about!

HISTORY

The company was nine years ago by a Princeton graduate right out of business school and what they do is convert non-recyclable stuff like plastic potato chip bags and plastic bottles into items that are now being sold at big name stores like Wal-Mart, Target, and K-Mart.

Not only is the company doing something to clean up the planet, but they actually pays consumers to send in their garbage or drop it off at one of their collection centers to be converted into usable items like children's toys, kitchen cutting boards. And they do all this using a very small amount of energy which is key to effective recycling and green living in my book!

Make a point to check out the Terracycle Products in Walmart and if you see a manager lurking around give him a big, hearty pat on the back for drawing attention to earth friendly companies and their products...now if they would only stock more organic foods.

How Do I Entertain My Newborn

A neighbor recently asked me, "How do I entertain my newborn?" I suppose she had noticed my house bursting at the seams with babies and felt I had lots of experience with entertaining them to maintain my sanity. My response was, "How do you know she's bored?". Her crestfallen expression made me feel so bad and brought back memories of how lost I was at times with my first that I wanted to offer some assistance.

I had never given this much thought and when I did, I had to question how DO I entertain my newborn? After putting my mind to it I realized that I have got a few tricks up my sleeve for keeping a four month old (or thereabouts) occupied. Here are a few tips that have served me well during church services, in doctor's waiting rooms and at other times when I noticed that my babies were getting bored.

(1.)
At home, I simply talk to my infants, make the occasional silly face and then laugh with them. I take their bouncy seat, swing, playpen or high chair into the room where I'm working to give them a change of scenery and let them be a part of what I'm doing.

(2.)
How do I entertain my newborn at church? My little ones refused to stay in the nursery much to the dismay of those close to our family's pew. There are Sundays when it's just not worth the effort but on special occasions when watching church on television just won't do, I resort to quiet toys and making funny faces behind my hand so the minister won't get the idea that I'm mocking him.


After typing this post, I've come to the conclusion that entertaining a four month old baby will come naturally if you just relax and let it happen. Giggling, being silly and being in the moment is easy; it's thinking about it that makes it more complicated than it has to be.

How Often Should You Clean Your House

After seeing me cleaning window screens a newlywed neighbor asked me how often should you clean your house. I pondered the question a minute and realized that I couldn't give her an answer because I clean some parts of my house more often than others.

The young bride (read: novice housekeeper) may been more interested in conversation than a cleaning schedule but as this may be a topic that lots of young wives and mothers might be interested in I made the following list. Please remember that I don't claim to be an expert on homemaking plus I probably clean the dusty parts of our family's home more than the average person because my babies have such severe asthma and allergies.

In other words I don't know the answer to how often should you clean your house because your circumstances may be completely different from mine.

How often should you clean your air ducts?
I clean my heat and air ducts monthly using my crevice tool because I see them as a major contributor of dust particles. If you have a good air filter, you could probably get away with cleaning them at the start of each season or a couple of times a year and don't forget to use green house cleaners!


How often should you clean your bathroom?

As you probably know, we've been fighting MRSA (staph infection) in my house so I clean mine after each family member takes a bath.

If you have no such problem, you could probably get away with cleaning your bathroom once or twice a week. To make weekly bathroom cleaning easier:

• always crack a window or run the exhaust fan while showering to keep the bathroom from getting moldy
• wipe down the sides of the tub or shower walls using a squeegee. This is important because removing hard water stains from glass shower doors is a pain in the ass!
• toss the bar soap and use body wash
  pour a cup of vinegar into the toilet once a week and let sit over night to break down hard water stains

How often should you clean your carpet?

This question is a no-brainer for me because I don't have carpet. Allergies and carpet don't mix. I have no rugs that can't be washed. As for others, it's still an easy to answer question; once a year or when it looks nasty. In my personal opinion carpet is nasty all the time even when it looks clean. If you don't believe me, hang around and take a peek underneath next your old carpet pad next time you have new wall to wall carpet installed. If that doesn't make you want to tile your floors nothing will, my friend.

That's just hitting the high points but it should give you some idea of how often should you clean your house as well as easy ways to keep it looking good in between scrubbings.

The Extreme Germophobe

A friend just said that that dealing with MRSA has turned me into an extreme GERMAPHOBE! My response to this accusation was that I don't actually have germophobia which is condition that causes a person who is so obsessed with bacteria to sanitize their hourly but I do turn on water faucets with my elbow so I suppose one could call me a pseudo-germaphobe according to the definitions I've found in the dictionary.

The reason for her inaccurate remark was that I told her that I would never consider owning a jetted tub because unsanitary bathrooms are not an option for me. Cleaning and sanitizing a normal bathtub after two family members who have MRSA staph infections is quite challenging enough without having to worry about bacteria hiding deep within dark holes.

And don't tell me that this is not an issue because I once flipped the switch in a whirlpool bath at a luxurious bed and breakfast inn only to find black moldy flakes floating in my bath water. This was before I became the extreme germophobe that I am today or it probably would have cause a fainting spell.

Where I once lived for a soak in a Jacuzzi, I know know that without going the extra mile to disinfect it, a jetted tub is a haven for mold and bacteria. Those warm, damp pipes are a virtual playground for stuff that scares me silly.
A well maintained hot tub has enough chemicals to beat back the bacteria but bathtubs don't.

I learned how to clean a jetted tub in our previous home out of necessity but I truly never trusted it and while many say the way to do it is easy and inexpensive; I found that performing the procedure which involved Cascade dishwashing powder and bleach after each and every bath to be time consuming and to cost money that I didn't have to spend at the time not to mention that I find unnecessarily dumping more chemicals into the environment reprehensible.

Being the extreme germophobe and frugal mom that I have to be, please forgive me if whenever I see a jetted tub I look at it as extra work and a breeding ground for bacteria. I'm sorry if that rains on anyone's parade but when you are talking about avoiding contaminating yourselves and your kids with MRSA that could be life threatening whirlpool bathtubs are simply not worth it.
Oh yeah, and there's no way in hell that I would ever take a bath in a B&B, motel or even a 5 star hotel EVER!

And even when taking a shower I practice the following advice that my grandmother lived by way before staph came into my life:


An optimist cleans the bathtub after her bath.
A pessimist cleans the bathtub before her bath.
A lady cleans the bath tub both before and after her bath.

I hope that next time you visit that I have something more uplifting to talk about in the way of Family Recipes, Babies and Parenting Issues rather than ranting about that the reasons that I should not be classified as an extreme germophobe because I am told that dealing with a germaphobe is not fun... now imagine that!

Am I a Helicopter Mom

My goal for yesterday was to decide if I am a helicopter mom. I was forced to take a look at myself to see if all of the health problems and chronic illnesses in my household had caused me to cross the line from caring, attachment parenting into helicopter parenting? Am I guilty of hovering about throwing myself between my kids and the cruel world and therefore leaving them victims to stunted development?

I’m a pretty busy lady and it has taken a little longer for the latest buzz phrase to catch my attention. However, my sister (remember the one who lets her kids run wild?) pointedly brought up the term "helicopter parenting" that she heard on a CBS documentary that aired awhile back to me over the weekend. I believe that she is pointing the finger at me for being a "hyper-parent" who coddles her kids.

WHAT IS A HELICOPTER MOM

Other than the obvious assumption that the definition of a helicopter mommy is one that hovers, after doing a little research I have ascertained that this would be a neurotically overprotective mother but who is fearful of upsetting her children and overcompensates (read: spoils) in various areas of their lives.

Am I little guilty of hovering over my kids? I wish I could square my shoulders and say that I would never do such a thing. But the truth is that I’m just a tat guilty. I’m not guilty of spoiling them or trying to predict and fill their every desire but because of our circumstances I may be a little overcautious but please allow me to plead my case.

Forgive me if I cringe whenever we are at the playground (or any other uncontrolled environment) and your child who doesn’t know my baby has a life threatening peanut allergy offers my daughter a bite. And please be understanding when you call to invite my kids over for a play date if I ask if you have cats, dogs or birds because my baby has asthma.

Under normal circumstances, I would like to think that I’m not a helicopter mom. I don’t spoil my children with toys and clothes and do my best parent them without clinging or overprotecting. But when it comes to my babies’ safety, you had better just get out of the way because this aircraft has a flight plan that will rock your world and for this mission I refuse to apologize.

HOW TO STOP CO-SLEEPING

I’m opening the floor for discussion on how to stop co-sleeping with my baby AND my older children. I’ve enjoyed a nice long run where my little ones slept within arms’ reach but as the size of my brood increases and the duration of hubby’s illness drags on, let’s say that co-sleeping with children and one infant is not that pleasurable or restful and I need help.

When this ball got rolling we never marked a date on the calendar setting a date for what age to stop co-sleeping. Frankly, I couldn’t think much past the desperate need for getting some sleep. Today, long after the ship has sailed I start to study up on how to stop co-sleeping and find that I should have conferred with my pediatrician about making a plan regarding my baby’s sleeping location. Oh, whatever..like my kids care what their doctor says.

After making light of involving a doctor in deciding when to stop co-sleeping, I do agree that I need a plan now that I can see that weaning time is drawing nigh. And after being sucker punched in the nose last night, I’m motivated but not sure how to stop co-sleeping without leaving my little ones feeling unwanted, unloved or abandoned. After checking into borrowing a portable crib for the little one, cost is no longer an issue. But do I need to move cots for the older children into the bedroom to ease the transition?

I was thinking something along the lines of gently moving the older children into the toddler beds after they go to sleep in our big bed and easing the baby into the travel crib. My husband called my idea “How to Stop Co-Sleeping for Sissies”. My response was that I prefer a gentle approach to parenting confident, independent children one baby step at a time.

Another reason that I’m working to make the transition as pain free and gradual as possible is because the idea of having to spend hours at a time rubbing little backs in the middle of the night because they woke up in a disoriented state is not appealing to me. Plus, I need some time to adjust to not being able to reach out and touch my girls to reassure myself that all is well during the night. Prolonged chronic illnesses and almost losing one can do that to a mom.

So, perhaps I should be asking for ideas on how to stop co-sleeping that are easy on both mother and child or any other parenting advice that you’d like to share I’m open to suggestions.

BEST GREEN BABY WIPES

After a round with baby rash, I did a little research on the best green baby wipes. I've had concerns about the cheap store-bought brands for a long time. With my baby's sensitive skin, allergies and eczema I'm very particular about all products she comes in contact with and wipes appeared on my radar when I read that some brands have materials that have been bleached with chlorine and contain alcohol or other irritants that might cause diaper rash.

A few common brands are Huggies, Pampers and Luvs so I decided to see if I could find a list of ingredients for each and here's what I found:

PAMPERS BABY WIPES INGREDIENTS LIST


Pampers "One Ups" Ingredients List
Water
Propylene Glycol
Aloe Vera Gel
Sodium Coco PG Dimonium
Chloride Phosphate
Cetyl Hydroxyethylcellulose
Methylparaben
Propylparaben
2-Brono-2-Nitropropane-1,3-Diol
Fragrance

HUGGIES BABY WIPES INGREDIENTS


I couldn't find a list of Huggies Baby Wipes Ingredients but I found a statement on their FAQ that stated that they contain Vitamin E and natural Aloe Vera. No information on what else they had in them which I found kind of fishy...but I didn't actually go to the store and check out the container to see if their was more info on the label.

The reasons that I put Huggies and Pampers first on my list to review were price and the fact that Huggies Natural Care Wipes and Pampers Baby Fresh Wipes were mentioned in an article discussing the best baby wipes of the year. But after reading some of the baby wipes reviews, I am somewhat less than impressed.

So, moving on to the more expensive but highly rated brand, Bum Boosa Bamboo baby wipes. And when I tell you they are not cheap...believe me.
The cost averaged out to .07 cents per wipe (on the bumboosa website) even if you spring for the 960 count package! Who can afford that kind of money for each and every wiped face, hand or butt? I can't imagine paying that for the best green baby wipes on the planet!

I'm all for utilizing bamboo as a replacement for traditional fibers. From what I know, the theory behind its use is spot on. But when an eco-friendly product is so expensive that only the very wealthy could ever afford to use products made with it that's not so helpful.

Another thing that caught my attention with this brand (rated the best green baby wipe by many) is that some of the reviews reported an orange essential oil smell that was strong. The idea of a fragrant smell of oranges that might do a little to overpower the smell of baby poop is appealing to me but guess what? My youngest is allergic to oranges.

Here's a list of ingredients in Bumboosa Baby Wipes from their website:

• Purified Water (98%)
• Organic Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera leaf)
• Lavender Essential Oil from France)
• Sweet Orange Essential Oil (Brazilian no less but my babies are just as allergic)
• Tocopherol (Vitamin E) – Natural Preservative, Skin Softener
• Vegetable Glycerin – Soothes and cleanses skin (so does water)
• Potassium Sorbate Preservative – Preservative (Sorbate is the metabolized form of the sugar Sorbitol)
• Polysorbate 20 used as an Emulsifier
• Citric Acid pH a Stabilizer that provides stability (what the heck does that mean)

I admit a certain amount of frustration after gathering these facts and
I'm about to come to the conclusion that the best green baby wipes that will work with my budget are homemade from scraps of cotton flannel. I challenge the visitors to Family Recipes, Babies and Parenting Issues to tell me how much more trouble can it be to pack moist flannel wipes in a ziploc or to store them dry and moisten them for use! As for myself, I feel kind of silly for obsessing over this issue when the best green baby wipes are right under our noses and even my five year old can sew a straight seam!

GREEN PARENTING TIPS

When I started this blog I wanted to focus on sharing green parenting tips. My goal was to turn the lot of you into eco-friendly parents in 10 Easy Steps or less. As so many of you know, it’s easy to run to the end of the thread of your subject and be jerked backwards only to fall on your butt. Why I thought I could give advice to others at a time when I was completely overwhelmed with parenting a very sick child is beyond me. In between emergencies, I did manage to offer some advice but I feel I must apologize for those days when I ventured off the course or didn't post at all.

The reason I feel so very guilty for neglecting my duties here is perhaps because
I can look back into my own childhood and see where no care whatsoever was given to isolating me and my sisters (and to be fair the other kids I knew) from pesticides or noxious fumes blowing out of a nearby factory. I tend to blame overexposure to chemicals for a healthy portion of my troubles in life. Granted I have been guilty of meandering off the course with the occasional recipe and rant but I am still driven to not only improve the air quality and the environment of my own home but to help guide others with as many green parenting tips as I can churn out.

Some of the posts I’ve made in this blog were made when my daughter was very sick and it gave me a place to vent my fears and share my pain. I was tempted to go back and delete old posts whose content is no longer relevant or start a new blog altogether and delete this one that displays my struggle to stay on topic.

These days my husband is the sickest one of the bunch and is engaged in a battle with staph which hopefully he will win. I look forward to the day that I can write about how the posts that I made during that health crisis are no longer important. On that note, I believe that I'll keep this blog intact, because moms still leave comments about what they are going through with their child’s peanut allergy, asthma or MRSA plus someday I would like for my girls to be able to read what mommy said about their early lives and to know that I was more focused on them at times than I was on posting green parenting tips on Oooh Baby Green Living and Parenting Ideas.